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skeletal muscle
noun
: striated muscle that is usually attached to the skeleton and is usually under voluntary control
Examples of skeletal muscle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
From your biceps and triceps to your quads and glutes, your skeletal muscles contain slow-twitch (type I) and fast-twitch (type II).
—Tiffany Ayuda, Health, 13 Apr. 2024
Hemoglobin and myoglobin contributions to skeletal muscle oxygenation in response to exercise.
—Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024
While the heart does pump more blood to skeletal muscles that are working during these activities, these kinds of exercises depend on a muscle’s ability to move the weight.
—William Cornwell, The Conversation, 21 Feb. 2024
In humans, venom causes severe swelling and instability of blood pressure, neuromuscular weakness and paralysis, hemorrhaging, and the death of skeletal muscle, leading to permanent tissue loss and amputations.
—Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2023
This has led to a large interest in the development of weight-loss drugs that may not have as much of an effect on skeletal muscle mass as semaglutide does.
—Sara Reardon, Scientific American, 17 Nov. 2023
In addition to weight, this may include body fat, body fat mass, lean body mass, muscle mass, skeletal muscle mass, bone mass, visceral fat, BMI (body mass index), BMR (basal metabolic rate), metabolic age, body water, and protein mass.
—Theresa Holland, Peoplemag, 25 Oct. 2023
Females also tend to have a greater number of estrogen receptors on their skeletal muscles compared with males.
—Cara Ocobock, Scientific American, 19 Oct. 2023
The team took three skeletal muscle samples and three skin tissue samples, each weighing 80 milligrams, from a Tasmanian tiger specimen that had been preserved at room temperature at the Swedish Museum of Natural History.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'skeletal muscle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1877, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near skeletal muscle
Cite this Entry
“Skeletal muscle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skeletal%20muscle. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Medical Definition
skeletal muscle
noun
: striated muscle that is usually attached to the skeleton and is usually under voluntary control
also
: a muscle composed of skeletal muscle
More from Merriam-Webster on skeletal muscle
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about skeletal muscle
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